Lubrication of textile fibres

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses the use of ethercarboxylates for lubricating textile fibres, preferably spinning fibres. These ethercarboxylates have the general formula (I) 
 
R—(OCH 2 CH 2 ) n —O—CH 2 COOX  (I) 
where: 
             R represents a C 6 -C 22  aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, n is a number between 0.3 and 50,    X is hydrogen, an alkali metal, an ammonium cation, an alkanolammonium cation or a C 6 -C 22  alkylammonium cation. In addition, the present invention provides a process for lubricating textile fibres that consist of placing in contact these textile fibres with ethercarboxylates of general formula (I).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Application PCT/EP2003/014365 filed on Dec. 17, 2003, pending at the time of filing of this continuation application, the contents of which are herein wholly incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE ART

The present invention relates to the field of textile fibre treatment, specifically to the use of auxiliary spinning composition or finishing compositions, and particularly to the use of ethercarboxylates for lubricating textile fibres, such as spinning fibres.

PRIOR ART

The field of textile fibre treatment uses compositions for improving their manipulation and processing.

These compositions, known as auxiliary spinning compositions or finishing compositions, allow, on one hand, to manufacture the textile fibres and, on another, to facilitate the subsequent spinning and weaving processes used to obtain the final textile products.

Auxiliary spinning compositions generally provide lubrication, and therefore reduce the friction between the fibres and between the filaments and the guide elements of spinning machines. Additionally, these auxiliary spinning compositions prevent the formation of electrostatic charges and confer a slight cohesion between adjacent fibres.

In addition, many other characteristics are desirable for these compositions, such as their compatibility with colorants or a good biodegradability. In addition to the aforementioned requirements, fibre finishing compositions should be thermally stable and not corrosive, must be easily applied and removed from the fibres and must be physiologically compatible, as well as providing wetting properties to the fibres and being soluble or emulsionable in water.

As can be easily seen, a single substance can hardly provide these numerous requirements. Modern preparations for fibres thus comprise, in general, mixtures of various products whose composition thereby provides the desired effect in the fibre manufacture.

Usually fibre-finishing compositions include lubricating agents as well as emulsifiers, antistatic agents, wetting agents, antioxidants, biocides, corrosion inhibition agents and/or pH regulation agents.

Auxiliary spinning compositions are generally applied by contacting the fibres or yarns and the fibre finishing compositions comprising a solution or emulsion that includes at least one lubricant agent. These compositions can be sprayed or directly applied on the fibres or yarns.

Typical examples of components for these auxiliary spinning compositions are synthetic sterols, sorbitan esters, silicones, polyethers, esters of phosphoric acid, quaternised fatty amines, fatty acid alkanolamines, ethoxylated fatty acids, ethercarboxylate esters, and block polymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide or the like.

There are a great variety of lubricant agents for textile fibres described in the state of the art. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. A-2,079,108 describes fibre lubricants derived from cellulose based on long-chain fatty acid partial esters and polyhydric alcohols.

GB Patent A-1098315 describes lubricants for textile fibres based on ethoxylated esters of C₆-C₁₈ alcohols and phosphor pentoxide.

GB Patent A-1113607 describes lubricant compositions for textile fibres based on paraffinic mineral oil and phosphoric esters of unsaturated alcohols.

U.S. Pat. Nos. A-3,907,689 and A-3,951,825 describes compositions for treating textile fibres based on mixtures of organic esters that can contain waxes of the ethoxylated fatty acid type.

U.S. Pat. No. A-3,926,816 describes lubricant compositions for textile fibres comprising a) sodium or potassium phosphoric alkylesters, b) fatty acid alkylesters, c) polyoxoethylenated lauric ethers and d) polyoxoethylenated tridecylic ethers.

U.S. Pat. No. A-4,615,816 describes polyalkylene ether polycarbonates as lubricant agents for textile fibres.

U.S. Pat. No. A-4,624,793 describes lubricant compositions for polypropylene fibres based on ethoxylated linear secondary alcohols and phosphoric esters of linear or branched ethoxylated alcohols.

International patent application WO A-9414756 describes triethanolamine ester salts of quatemised fatty acids, obtained by esterification of fatty acids with triethanolamine or with triethanolamine ethoxylates with a subsequent quaternisation in the presence of long-chain phosphoric acid esters with ethylene oxide, used to reduce both the friction between fibres and the electrostatic charge generated.

Finally, the use of ether carboxylic acid alkyl esters as lubricant agents for textile fibres is described at least in U.S. Pat. Nos. A-5,654,038, A-5,576,470, A-5,314,718, A-5,263,308 and A-5,240,743.

In addition, the use of ethercarboxylates for the treatment of textile fibres is known to the skilled in the art. Thus, for example, CH Patent A-324665 describes a process for scouring cellulose fibres, which comprises washing these cellulose fibres with water at a temperature between 75 and 140° C. with an alkaline aqueous solution between 0.5 and 100 Be, containing as an essential ingredient a compound of formula R—(OC₂H₄)_(n)—O—CH₂COOM

-   -   where R represents a C₈-C₂₀ saturated or unsaturated aliphatic         radical, a C₈-C₂₅ alkylphenyl or hydrogenated alkylphenyl, n is         a number from 2 to 20 and M represents a cation selected among         hydrogen, an alkali metal or ammonium.

U.S. Pat. No. A-3,043,648 describes a process for a quick dyeing of fibres that consists in dyeing these fibres in an aqueous solution containing, among other ingredients, a polyglycol ethercarboxylic acid of formula R₃—O(C₂H₄O)_(x)—CH₂COOH

-   -   where R₃ represents a group selected from among C₁₈H₃₅,         alkylphenyl C₈-C₁₂ and dialkylphenyl C₈-C₁₂, x is a number         greater than 19.

Finally, International patent application WO A-9851852 describes a wetting agent for pre-treating textile yarns that contains

-   -   i) ethercarboxylates of general formula         R—O—(C_(n)H_(2n)O)_(x)—CH₂COOM  (I)     -   where R represents a linear alkyl group with 8 to 22 carbon         atoms, M is hydrogen or a cation, n is 2 or 3 and x is a number         between 4 and 18,         -   ii) alkoxylated fatty alcohols of general formula             R—O—(C_(n)H_(2n)O)_(x)—H     -   where R, n and x have the same meaning as above.

However, the prior art does not describe nor suggest the use of ethercarboxylates for the lubrication of textile fibres.

The authors of the present document have found that ethercarboxylates surprisingly show lubrication properties for textile fibres that are similar or better than those shown by the commonly used lubricants. In addition, these ethercarboxylates are more environmentally friendly than some of the textile fibre lubricants known in the state of the art.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is the use of ethercarboxylates to lubricate textile fibres, preferably spinning fibres.

An additional object of the invention is a process for lubricating textile fibres.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses the use of ethercarboxylates for lubricating textile fibres.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, these ethercarboxylates are defined by the general formula (I): R—(OCH₂CH₂)_(n)—O—CH₂COOX  (I)

-   -   where:         -   R represents a C₆-C₂₂ aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated             or unsaturated, linear or branched,         -   n is a number between 0.3 and 50,         -   X is hydrogen, an alkali metal, an ammonium cation, an             alkanolammonium cation or a C₆-C₂₂ alkylammonium cation.

Preferably, in the ethercarboxylates of general formula (I), R represents a C₁₂-C₁₈ aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched.

Also preferred are ethercarboxylates of general formula (I) in which n is a number between 0.3 and 20, more preferably between 0.5 and 15.

Lastly, also preferred are ethercarboxylates with general formula (I) in which X is hydrogen or an alkali metal.

The aliphatic hydrocarbon chain containing from 6 to 22 carbon atoms, preferably from 12 to 18 carbon atoms, is preferably derived from fats and oils of natural origin, as well as of synthetic triglycerides. Preferred fats and oils include palm oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, castor oil, olive oil, soy oil and animal oils such as beef tallow, bone oil, fish oil, hardened and semihardened oils thereof and mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred are the acyl groups derived of coconut oil, palm oil and olive oil.

Ethercarboxylates of general formula (I) can be obtained, for example, as described in the German Patent application DE-A-4224362 or in the European Patent application EP-A-0580263. The production process consists of two stages, being the first the reaction of an alcohol with a hydrocarbon chain of the desired length with ethylene oxide in normal reaction conditions known to the skilled in the art. In addition, a previously ethoxylated alcohol can also be used as a starting reagent. Then the ethoxylated alcohol is reacted with a strong base, such as sodium or potassium hydroxide in the presence of a reducing agent, such as sodium borohydride, to form the corresponding sodium or potassium alkoxylate. This product is made to react with sodium monochloroacetate to form the corresponding ethercarboxylate in salt form. This salt is converted into the corresponding acid by washing with sulphuric acid or hydrochloric acid.

According to the present invention ethercarboxylates are used as lubricants for textile fibres in the form of an aqueous solution. The aqueous ethercarboxylate solutions used to lubricate textile fibres can also contain additives such as antistatic agents, wetting agents, cohesive agents, softening agents and emulsifying agents, among other additives.

These additives are described in “Una aportación a la tecnología del ensimaje” (A contribution to finishing technology), published by Revitextil S. L. (ISBN: 84-605-6437-1).

The pH of aqueous lubricant compositions based on ethercarboxylates is preferably between 6.0 and 8.5, more preferably between 6.5 and 8.0.

In another embodiment of the invention, a process is provided for lubricating textile fibres that consists of putting in contact the textile fibres with ethercarboxylates. In a preferred embodiment, these ethercarboxylates have the general formula (I): R—(OCH₂CH₂)_(n)—O—CH₂COOX  (I)

-   -   where:         -   R represents a C₆-C₂₂ aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated             or unsaturated, linear or branched,         -   n is a number between 0.3 and 50, preferably between 0.3 and             20, more preferably between 0.5 and 15,         -   X is hydrogen, an alkali metal, an ammonium cation or, an             alkanolammonium cation or a C₆-C₂₂ alkylammonium cation.

As is conventional in the textile industry, for spinning fibres the aqueous lubricant compositions are applied on the textile fibres immediately after they leave the spinning nozzle. The lubricant compositions, with a temperature between 15 and 90° C., are applied for example by cylinders or by dosage pumps with suitable application devices.

The aqueous lubricant compositions are generally applied in a very diluted form, so that the amount applied of the aqueous lubricant compositions is between 0.05 g and 5 g of the aqueous lubricant composition active matter at 100% for each 100 g of textile fibres.

These aqueous lubricant compositions in a very diluted form can be obtained directly or by diluting concentrated aqueous lubricant compositions, said dilution being possible with hard, semihard or soft water.

In the process for lubricating textile fibres of the invention the textile fibres are putted in contact with a sufficient amount of the aqueous lubricant composition formed by diluting ethercarboxylates in water in a factor from 2 to 10000, preferably from 10 to 2000.

In addition, the textile fibres on which these aqueous lubricant compositions are applied are preferably spinning fibres, which can be of chemical or natural origin. More specifically, these aqueous lubricant compositions are applied on fibres of chemical origin.

According to the present invention, a fibre of chemical origin is defined as a fibre obtained by physical or chemical processes in production means, which comprises cellulosic and synthetic fibres as described in the “Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology”, third edition, volume 10, published by Wiley-Interscience (ISBN 0-471-02093-X). Examples of fibres of chemical origin are:

-   -   acrylic, polyamide, polyester and polyurethane; while fibres of         synthetic origin are,     -   acetate and rayon, which are of cellulosic origin.

Examples of fibres of natural origin are:

-   -   cotton, from vegetable origin; and,     -   camel, cashmere, silk and wool, which are of animal origin.

Preferably, the textile fibre on which the lubricant compositions containing ethercarboxylates are applied is a fibre of chemical origin of synthetic type.

The following examples are meant to provide an expert in the field with a sufficiently clear and complete explanation of the present invention. In no case they must be considered as limiting the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Lubrication of Textile Fibres

The fibre/ceramic (F/K) and fibre/fibre (F/F) dynamic coefficients of friction and the “stick-slip” (S-S) were obtained for the lubricants described in Table 1. The values of these parameters are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 shows lubricants according to the present invention (LF.1-LF.10) and comparative examples.

The coefficients were determined using a Rothschild F-Meter model R-1188. The input tension was set at 0.15 N.

The friction material used to determine the fibre/ceramic dynamic friction coefficient was a circular ceramic part. In addition, a speed of 50, 100 and 200 mm/min was used with a contact angle of 180°.

When determining the fibre/fibre (F/F) dynamic coefficient of friction the speed was set at 1 mm/min and the contact angle at 360°.

The “stick-slip” (S-S), a characteristic phenomenon of low-speed friction, was calculated as the difference between the average maximum value and the average minimum value of the fibre/fibre dynamic friction coefficients.

Lubricants described in Table 1 were applied on a continuous multifilament polyester fibre (150/30), in a concentration of 0.5% by weight (active product over fibres weight).

Prior to this application the polyester fibre was scoured to eliminate any traces of impurities that it may contain.

Before proceeding to determine the dynamic friction coefficients the scoured polyester filament samples were conditioned for 24 hours at 20° C. and 60% relative humidity. TABLE 1 Spin finishing lubricants (LF) Description R n X Lubricant (Chain) (Ethoxilation) (Cation) LF.1 Oleic 1 Potassium LF.2 Oleic 1.5 Potassium LF.3 Oleic 2 Potassium LF.4 Oleic 5 Potassium LF.5 Oleic 9 Potassium LF.6 Lauric¹ 2.5 Potassium LF.7 Lauric¹ 7 Potassium LF.8 Lauric¹ 10 Potassium LF.9 Lauric¹ 7 Sodium LF.10 Lauric¹ 10 Sodium Comp. Ex. 1 ²FOSFODET ® 20 M Comp. Ex. 2 ³FOSFODET ® 20 D Comp. Ex. 3 ⁴SURFAGENE FJZ 903 Comp. Ex. 4 Oleic 5 Methyl ester Comp. Ex. 4 Lauric¹ 7 Methyl ester ¹Lauric type hydrocarbon chain with a C₁₂-C₁₄ weight ratio of 70:30. ²FOSFODET ® 20 M is the phosphoric ester of lauric alcohol (monoester to diester weight ratio = 80:20) in potassium salt form, marketed by KAO Corporation S.A. ³FOSFODET ® 20 D is the phosphoric ester of lauric alcohol (monoester to diester weight ratio = 50:50) in potassium salt form, marketed by KAO Corporation S.A. ⁴SURFAGENE FJZ 903 is the phosphoric ester of an ethoxylated C₁₆-C₁₈ alcohol (monoester to diester weight ratio = 80:20), marketed by KAO Chemicals GmbH.

TABLE 2 Dynamic friction coefficients (μ) F/F F/F F/F F/K F/K F/K (1)⁴ (1)⁴ (1)⁴ LF (50)¹ (100)² (200)³ min. max. avg. S-S⁵ LF.1 0.36 0.39 0.45 0.033 0.055 0.045 0.022 LF.2 0.31 0.38 0.46 0.051 0.068 0.061 0.017 LF.3 0.36 0.37 0.41 0.053 0.069 0.063 0.016 LF.4 0.36 0.42 0.45 0.048 0.063 0.058 0.015 LF.5 0.36 0.42 0.45 0.051 0.065 0.060 0.015 LF.6 0.30 0.35 0.41 0.049 0.064 0.058 0.014 LF.7 0.36 0.40 0.45 0.054 0.070 0.066 0.016 LF.8 0.37 0.40 0.42 0.045 0.059 0.054 0.014 LF.9 0.38 0.42 0.45 0.059 0.078 0.072 0.019 LF.10 0.38 0.43 0.45 0.048 0.062 0.056 0.014 Comp. Ex. 1 0.48 0.53 0.57 0.048 0.053 0.052 0.005 Comp. Ex. 2 0.42 0.47 0.53 0.057 0.070 0.064 0.013 Comp. Ex. 3 0.44 0.51 0.57 0.042 0.053 0.051 0.011 Comp. Ex. 4 0.33 0.37 0.43 0.031 0.080 0.068 0.050 Comp. Ex. 5 0.28 0.33 0.40 0.004 0.062 0.053 0.058 ¹Dynamic friction coefficient F/K determined at 50 mm/min ²Dynamic friction coefficient F/K determined at 100 mm/min ³Dynamic friction coefficient F/K determined at 200 mm/min ⁴Dynamic friction coefficient F/K determined at 1 mm/min ⁵“Stick-Slip” of the dynamic friction coefficient F/F determined at 1 mm/min

The experimental results show that the use of lubricants according to the present invention (LF.1-LF.10) provides dynamic coefficients of friction fibre/ceramic (F/K) lower than those obtained by the comparative examples.

Thus, it can be concluded that lubricants according to the present invention allow an improved sliding of fibres and reduce the friction between fibres and machinery parts, compared to the lubricants used in the comparative examples.

In addition, the dynamic friction coefficients fibre/fibre (F/F) and the “stick-slip” (S-S) values obtained with the lubricants according to the present invention show that, in general, the use of these lubricants confers an improved cohesion between fibres (higher stick-slip) when they are compared to lubricants corresponding to comparative examples 1-3. On the other hand, too high stick-slip values can however have a negative influence in the softness of the fibre, since a “cracant” feeling is then conferred to the fibre. Thus, better hand properties can be expected for the lubricants according to the present invention than for those corresponding to the comparative examples 4 and 5. 

1. Use of ethercarboxylates to lubricate textile fibres, characterised in that the ethercarboxylates have the general formula (I) R—(OCH₂CH₂)_(n)—O—CH₂COOX  (I) where: R represents a C₆-C₂₂ aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, n is a number between 0.3 and 50, X is hydrogen, an alkali metal, an ammonium cation, an alkanolammonium cation or a C₆-C₂₂ alkylammonium cation.
 2. Use according to claim 1, characterised in that in the ethercarboxylates of general formula (I), R is a C₁₂-C₁₈ aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched.
 3. Use according to claim 1, characterised in that in the ethercarboxylates of general formula (I), n is a number between 0.3 and 20, preferably between 0.5 and
 15. 4. Use according to claim 1, characterised in that in the ethercarboxylates of general formula (I), X is hydrogen or an alkali metal.
 5. Use according to claim 1, characterised in that the textile fibres are spinning fibres.
 6. Use according to claim 1, characterised in that the textile fibres are of chemical or natural origin.
 7. Use according to claim 1, characterised in that the textile fibres are of a chemical origin, preferably of synthetic origin.
 8. Process for lubricating textile fibres characterised in that it consists of putting in contact said textile fibres with ethercarboxylates, characterised in that the ethercarboxylates have the general formula (I) R—(OCH₂CH₂)_(n)—O—CH₂COOX  (I) where: R represents a C₆-C₂₂ aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, n is a number between 0.3 and 50, preferably between 0.3 and 20, more preferably between 0.5 and 15 X is hydrogen, an alkali metal, an ammonium cation, an alkanolammonium cation or a C₆-C₂₂ alkylammonium cation.
 9. Process according to claim 8, wherein the ethercarboxylates placed in contact with the fibres are in the form of an aqueous lubricant composition formed by diluting ethercarboxylates in water by a factor of 2 to 10000 by volume, preferably from 10 to
 2000. 10. Process according to claim 8, characterised in that the aqueous lubricant composition contains, in addition, antistatic agents, wetting agents, cohesive agents, softening agents and emulsifying agents, among other additives.
 11. Process according to claim 8, characterised in that the amount of aqueous lubricant composition placed in contact with the textile fibre is within a range between 0.05 g and 5 g of aqueous lubricant composition with 100% active matter for each 100 g of textile fibre.
 12. Process according to claim 8, characterised in that the textile fibres are spinning fibres.
 13. Process according to claim 8, characterised in that the textile fibres are of chemical or natural origin.
 14. Process according to claim 8, characterised in that the textile fibres are of chemical origin, preferably of synthetic type. 